Final Mission
' |image= |series= |production=40274-183 |producer(s)= |story=Kacey Arnold-Ince |script=Kacey Arnold-Ince, Jeri Taylor |director=Corey Allen |imdbref=tt0708714 |guests=Nick Tate as Dirgo, Kim Hamilton as Songi, Mary Kohnert as Tess Allenby |previous_production=Future Imperfect |next_production=The Loss |episode=TNG D09 |airdate=19 November 1990 |previous_release=Future Imperfect |next_release=The Loss |story_date(s)=Stardate 44307.3 |previous_story=Future Imperfect |next_story=The Loss }} =Summary= The Enterprise has traveled to the Pentarus system where Captain Picard must mediate a dispute among some miners on the fifth planet. Wesley Crusher receives word that he has been accepted to Starfleet Academy and, for his final mission, he will accompany Picard on his shuttle trip to Pentarus V. A distress call comes in from Gamilon V, where an unidentified vessel has entered orbit and is giving off lethal doses of radiation. Picard orders Riker to take the Enterprise to resolve that situation while he and Wesley travel in a shuttle sent by the miners, commanded by Captain Dirgo. En route, Dirgo's shuttle malfunctions and they are forced to crash-land on the surface of a harsh, desert-like moon. Though they are unharmed, the shuttle is beyond repair, and its communication systems and food replicators are disabled. Dirgo admits he has no emergency supplies on board, so they are forced to search for shelter and water. With his tricorder, Wesley identifies some caves and a potential source of water some distance away, and the three set out across the desert. Reaching a cave, they find a fountain-like water source, but it is protected by a crystalline forcefield. Dirgo attempts to use a phaser to destroy the field, but this activates a burst of energy from the fountain which encases the phaser in an impenetrable shell and causes a rock slide; Picard pushes Wesley out of the way but is severely injured in doing so. Meanwhile, the Enterprise has arrived at Gamilon V, finding the unidentified ship is an abandoned garbage scow filled with radioactive waste. Their initial attempt to attach thrusters to the barge to propel it through an asteroid belt into the Gamilon sun remotely fails, and Commander Riker is forced to attempt to tow the barge themselves using the tractor beam, exposing the crew to the lethal radiation. As Wesley continues to analyze the forcefield, Dirgo becomes impatient and attempts to breach the field again, but this time the energy burst encases him as well, killing him. Picard, weak from his injuries, gives Wesley advice about the academy, and tells him he is proud of him. Wesley refuses to give up. Meanwhile, the Enterprise, despite the rising lethal radiation levels on board, manages to get the barge headed into the sun and speeds off to help in the search for the shuttle. Wesley continues to study the fountain, and devises a plan to disable the forcefield. He fires his phaser at the fountain to attract the energy defense mechanism, but reprograms it using his tricorder to disable the field instead, and is finally able to access the water. Shortly thereafter, the Enterprise locates the wreckage of the mining shuttle, and Picard and Wesley are rescued. As Picard is carried from the cave, he tells Wesley that he will be missed. =Errors and Explanations= Nit Central # Keith Alan Morgan (Kmorgan) on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 - 4:18 am: After the shuttle crashes, Picard mentions the need for shelter, then mentions that the sun will turn the shuttle into an oven. However the shuttle travels through space, where it must deal with direct unfiltered radiation from stars and the freezing cold of the vacuum of space itself. To deal with those temperature extremes the shuttle must already have sufficient insulation to protect them from the sun, as long as there are no hull breaches and they remember to keep the door closed. Also wouldn't it make better sense to stay in the shuttle and cannibalize the working parts of it to try and send a distress signal and speed up their rescue? The hull and internal systems may have been damaged in the crash. # So what if there is a force field around the fountain? Why not use the phasers to drill a hole in the ground down to the water table? Drilling a hole would result in dirt falling into the hole, and contaminating the water. # If the Enterprise is going to dump the barge into the star, then why did some of the scenes show the Enterprise heading off to the side of the star? They may want to deposit the barge in the side of the star facing away from the planet. # John A. Lang on Friday, September 06, 2002 - 7:58 pm: GOLDEN DUNCE CAP AWARD: Riker... HEY RIKER! Why not just blow up the dumb garbage scow after it's pulled from orbit? Lt Sarcasm of Doom on Friday, September 06, 2002 - 8:52 pm: Large radioactive cloud in orbit around an alien planet not very good for navigation and health of passersby. # Kevin Nash on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 - 9:41 am: After the shuttle crashes Picard fashions a makeshift arrow in the sand out of debris pointing to the mountains in the distance. He does this so that potential rescue parties would know where to find Dirgo, Crusher, and himself. When they begin their trek away from the shuttle, though, they're walking a good 30 degrees to the right of where the arrow points. Possibly an easier route to the area of the mountains indicated by the arrow. # TSO on Thursday, December 13, 2007 - 12:29 am: Why was it so urgent that the Enterprise tow the waste ship into the sun? Couldn't they have towed it far enough away so the planet was out of danger, then leave it alone for a few hours while they go rescue their captain? They could then come back later and take their time to figure out the safest way to deal with it. It may have drifted beck to the planet, or broken up, while Enterprise was away. =Sources= Category:Episodes Category:The Next Generation